The objective is to carry out the first phase of a long-term randomized controlled trial on ability to lower blood pressure and prevent development of hypertension in hypertension-prone persons age 30-44. Two hundred hypertension-prone persons are being identified among working people in Chicago companies to permit development of this trial on the basis of defined population strata of employed men and women. The key criterion for hypertension proneness is a high normal mean diastolic pressure based on multiple readings on separate occasions, using the Hawksley random zero device. In addition, overweight and rapid heart rate are used to assess susceptibility to hypertension. Intervention in the randomly assigned special intervention group involves motivation and education to effect and sustain changes in life styles, particularly improved habits of nutrition, to correct overweight and high salt intake, and regular frequent moderate rhythmic exercise to improve cardiopulmonary fitness and to slow heart rate. The primary end pont in this first phase of the trial is mean diastolic pressure, assessed objectively and with special efforts to minimize bias, at semi-annual examinations of the persons randomized to the special intervention and usual care groups. If the special intervention efforts are successful in regard to effecting significant sustained decreases in weight, salt intake, heart rate and particularly blood pressure, as shown by the data over the first two years of follow-up, then support is to be sought for the second phase of the study, with sizeable increase in number of participants, and addition of a second primary end point, incidence of definite hypertension.